NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Event Focus

If at some point in the future NASA decides to return to the Moon and establish a presence there, would you decide to apply to be one of the lunar astronauts? What are you going to need to know about the Moon to be prepared to live and work on the Moon?

Description

What is it like to be on the Moon? How is it different from being on Earth? How has the information gained from the historic Apollo missions as well as recent satellite mapping changed our views of our nearest neighbor in space? This presentation will provide future lunar astronauts with a background of knowledge as well as correct their misconceptions about the Moon. Among the topics that can be discussed are the Moon's origin, phases, size and distance, crater formation, eclipses, tides, and how NASA has explored the Moon.

Instructional Objectives

 

Engage	The learner will begin by viewing a the rotating solar system with the Moon revolving around the Earth.
Explore	The learners will examine the Moon's phases, distance, size, and mass.
Explain	The learners will explain phases from Moon-Sun-Earth positions.
Elaborate	The learners will further discuss topics such as crater formation, eclipses, tides, and Moon origin.
Evaluate	The learners will evaluate recent discoveries of water on the Moon.

Sequence of Events

Pre-Conference Activities

What questions do you have about the moon? What do you think you will need to know to be a lunar astronaut? What do you already think you know about the moon? Make a list of your own questions, then share them with your classmates. Improve your own list and jot down what you learn as you investigate the moon.

Grades K-4:

Go outside on a clear (and warm) moonlit night and look at the moon. If you can, use a telescope or binoculars and make a drawing of what you see.

With the help of your teacher, a parent, or a book, label some of the craters and maria in your drawing.

Can you find the crater Tycho? Can you see the rays?

Watch the moon over several nights. Can you see the changing phases?

Grades 5-7:

Take a look at an activity about making craters 

Impact Craters (pgs. 61-69; print pgs. 71-79).

Grades 8-9:

A different version of Impact Crater, with additional materials created by Niki Barnes and Matt McCormick, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Check the current phase of the moon and where on earth it is visible at Earth and Moon Viewer.

Do you understand the lunar phases?

Check for general lunar background and links to other related sites at Lunar Geology.

VOCABULARY

Apollo: U.S. space program of the 1960's and 1970's that through a series of spaceflights placed twelve men on the Moon.

Basalt: the dark, dense igneous rock of a lava flow or minor intrusion, composed essentially of labradorite and pyroxene. The dark area on the Moon are basalt.

Crater: a bowl-shaped depression with a raised rim, formed by the impact of a meteoroid. Both sides of the Moon are covered with craters.

Eclipse: the blocking of the light of the moon by the intervention of the earth between it and the sun (lunar eclipse) or the blocking of the light of the sun by the intervention of the Moon between it and a point on the Earth (solar eclipse).

Farside: the side of the Moon that always faces away from the Earth.

Gravity: The natural force of attraction between any two bodies, which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The gravity of the Earth holds the Moon in orbit and the gravity of the Moon causes tides on Earth.

Maria: any of the several large, dark basalt plains on the Moon. Galileo believed that the lunar features were seas when he first saw them through a telescope. The maria cause the illusion of the man in the moon.

Moon: A natural satellite revolving around a planet. The Earth has one moon, called the Moon.

Nearside: the side of the moon that always faces towards the Earth.

Orbit: the curved path, usually elliptical, described by one body revolving around another. The Moon orbits around the Earth.

Phase: stage of the Moon's revolution around the Earth where different amounts of the Moon's surface are visible from the Earth due to the position of the Sun. They range from the Full Moon where all the nearside is lit to the New Moon where none of the nearside is lit.

Regolith: The layer of dust, rock, and mineral fragments that covers the surface of the Moon.

Videoconference Activities

At the beginning of the video conference, the presenter will question the students concerning their thoughts about what the moon is, where it came from, what it is made of, and how it is different from the Earth. The presenter will use models, pictures, movies, and green-screen images projected behind him to help students develop a better understanding of our nearest neighbor in space. During the video conference the presenter will help students build on their current knowledge of the Moon and attempt to correct such common misconceptions that the Moon is close to the Earth, the Moon lacks gravity, you can jump super-high on the Moon, or the Apollo moon-landings did not happen. To accomplish this the presenter may ask questions like the following: If there were a road to the Moon, how long do you think it would take your dad to drive you there at 70 miles per hour? (135 days) How long would it take you to walk to the Moon? (26 years) How large is the Moon? (Graphic showing 4 Moons = 1 Earth) How does our Moon compare with other moons in the solar system? (Graphic of moons in the solar system) Why is the Moon covered by so many craters? How are craters made? Why doesn't the Earth have craters? ( use graphics that show the Earth's atmosphere and compare to the Moon with no atmosphere) Is there any gravity on the Moon? Why is gravity there different than on Earth? (show video of astronaut dropping a feather and a hammer on the Moon) Did you know that the Moon pulls on the Earth? (show graphics of tides) Why does the Moon look different in the sky during the month? (use computer programs, diagrams, and models to demonstrate phases of the Moon) What causes eclipses? Have you ever seen one? Are there different kinds? (Demonstrate with models the positions of Earth, Moon, and Sun during various eclipses.)

Post-Conference Activities

Post-Assessment Reflection: Review your original list of questions about what you would want to know about the moon to be a lunar astronaut. See how well you can explain what you have learned to someone else. What do you understand now that you didn?t before? What do you need or want to know more about? Each of the following activities will help you clarify your understanding of important ideas as well as apply what you have learned about the moon.

Grades K-4: The Space Place   Make some Moon cookies. Try adding some features to your cookies that you learned are on the Moon. What do you think the powdered sugar might represent? If you made an Earth cookie to go with your Moon cookie, how big would the Earth cookie be?

Grades 4-12: Crater Hunters  From what you learned about crater formation on the Moon, this activity has you use mapping skills to look for impact craters on the Earth. Do you think there are any? If so, do you think they are similar to Moon craters? How might they be different?

Grades 5-12: Activities in Planetary Geology for the Physical and Earth Sciences Units 2 and 5 will teach you more about impact cratering and lunar mapping.

Grades 8-9: Design a moon base. Your assignment is to create a moon base along with a vehicle (spaceship) to transport you, your crew, and your passengers to the Moon safely. Detailed technical drawings of both the ship and the moon base are required. You must label the details (parts) on the drawings and give a brief explanation of the function and/or purpose of each.

RESOURCES

See for yourself what a piece of the moon looks like. Lunar materials are available for classroom use via the Lunar-Meteorite Sample Loan Program.

Standards

NSTA Science Content Standards: 5-8 

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARD D:

EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

• Most objects in the solar system are in regular and predictable motion. Those motions explain such phenomena as the day, the year, phases of the Moon, and eclipses.
• Gravity is the force that keeps planets in orbit around the sun and governs the rest of the motion in the solar system. The force of Earth's gravity keeps the Moon in orbit.

NSTA Science Content Standards: 9-12

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARD D:

THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH SYSTEM

• The Sun, the Earth, and the rest of the solar system formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas 4.6 billion years ago. The early Earth was very different from the planet we live on today. The Moon was created as a result of a collision between a Mars-sized object and the early Earth.